Is Gladiator a good movie

[jimmy olsen]

The Brain said it wasn't good and I object most heartily!

[Syt]

Gladiator was a 60s Italian swords and sandals b-movie on a Hollywood blockbuster budget. It's an enjoyable enough movie but it's not exactly Citizen Kane or Battleship Potemkin.

[celedhring]

I'll repost what I said in the movie thread:

Gladiator was okay. An effective Hollywood blockbuster, but nothing more than that. I think people don't realize how much Crowe's larger than life performance elevates the movie. Take him away, and there isn't much to chew on, besides some action scenes.

I liked Kingdom of Heaven more (the extended cut).

[Zanza]

I enjoyed it a lot. Great acting by Crowe and very beautiful cinegraphy.

[The Brain]

A cartoonishly evil villain is rarely great for a serious movie. And this villain is sexually deviant, so we can tell he's extra evil.

[Josquius]

It's good.
Not in best film ever terrritory but certainly in the tier 2 of films everyone should have seen.
It helps a lot that there really aren't that many roman films this past 50-odd years.

[Maladict]

I enjoyed it a lot. Great acting by Crowe and very beautiful cinegraphy.

I enjoyed it immensely. Partly because it was the first big movie set in Rome in decades, in my recollection at least.*
Nowadays big action scenes tend to bore me to tears, not sure if I'd enjoy it now.
And there definitely wasn't much too it story-wise, it all rests on the two lead actors and now-dated CGI.



*edit: there was that weird Titus Andronicus movie with Hopkins, I should watch that again.

[The Larch]

Good, but not great. Did wonders for what it was, creating almost single-handedly a revival of sword & sandal films.

[celedhring]

*edit: there was that weird Titus Andronicus movie with Hopkins, I should watch that again.

I loved it, but it's not really set in ancient Rome. It's a super-stilyzed early 20th century setting.

[Sheilbh]

*edit: there was that weird Titus Andronicus movie with Hopkins, I should watch that again.

I loved it, but it's not really set in ancient Rome. It's a super-stilyzed early 20th century setting.

Yes - I absolutely loved that film - Julie Taymor I think and very theatrical.

But that was also in a period of lots of modern-ish Shakespeare films (Richard III, Ken Branagh, Romeo + Juliet). Most of them still hold up.

I like Gladiator - I love Joaquin Phoenix's turn and the score is great and it's fun

[Syt]

*edit: there was that weird Titus Andronicus movie with Hopkins, I should watch that again.

I loved it, but it's not really set in ancient Rome. It's a super-stilyzed early 20th century setting.

There was a Julius Caesar production with an all black African cast which transplanted the piece to an African setting. One of the best versions I've seen.

[celedhring]

*edit: there was that weird Titus Andronicus movie with Hopkins, I should watch that again.

I loved it, but it's not really set in ancient Rome. It's a super-stilyzed early 20th century setting.

Yes - I absolutely loved that film - Julie Taymor I think and very theatrical.

But that was also in a period of lots of modern-ish Shakespeare films (Richard III, Ken Branagh, Romeo + Juliet). Most of them still hold up.

I like Gladiator - I love Joaquin Phoenix's turn and the score is great and it's fun

I remember loving Brannagh's Hamlet when it came out, but I admit to not having seen it since. Romeo+Juliet is a film I adore and have watched several times. As for Richard III, the whole interwar setting felt a bit too easy, but the cast carried that movie.

I love Much Ado About Nothing, too. Utterly love it. I take some weird regional pride in the fact that none other than Denzel Washington plays the Prince of Aragon.

[Syt]

Much Ado About Nothing is great but very much carried by the chemistry between Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson.

I need to rewatch his Hamlet, I remember thinking it was excellent, and it had an amazing cast all around. And there'sof course Henry IV

[Syt]

But to get back to the main topic: Gladiator may not be a great movie, but it's a great popcorn movie.

[jimmy olsen]

I'll repost what I said in the movie thread:

Gladiator was okay. An effective Hollywood blockbuster, but nothing more than that. I think people don't realize how much Crowe's larger than life performance elevates the movie. Take him away, and there isn't much to chew on, besides some action scenes.

I liked Kingdom of Heaven more (the extended cut).

Great acting is an integral part of a movie's quality